A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly a gaming device having a bonus game wherein the gaming device enables a player to pick selections until picking a selection having a terminator, whereupon the processor of the gaming device activates a mechanical device to determine the final bonus award.
Gaming devices, such as slot machines, having primary and secondary games are well known. One well known bonus game provides the player with an opportunity to win a bonus award by choosing one or more symbols from a group of symbols or one or more selections from a group of selections. The symbols are usually images that relate to a theme of the base game. The symbols mask awards from the player.
In one known implementation, the player picks from a group of symbols until the player picks a symbol that has been designated to terminate the bonus game, commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cterminatorxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cpooperxe2x80x9d and often represented by the term xe2x80x9cCOLLECT.xe2x80x9d When the player obtains a terminator, the game provides the player the award associated with the selections picked prior to picking the terminator. Examples of this type of bonus game are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,255 and EP 0 945 837 A2. Another example disclosed in EP 0 874 337 A1 enables the player to spin the reels of the gaming device until a non-winning combination is landed upon.
A second type of known bonus game provides a player a number of picks. A pick, for example, may be a pick from a group of masked selections, unmasked selections, or may include spinning the base game reels. An award may or may not be associated with each pick. When the player uses all of the player""s picks, the accumulated awards for all of the picks are provided to the player as the final bonus award and the bonus game is terminated. An example of this type of bonus game is disclosed in EP 0 984 409 A2.
A third type of known bonus game includes a mechanical apparatus such as a wheel or reel attached to a gaming device which provides a bonus award. Similar to other bonus games, a predetermined qualifying or triggering event in the base game triggers the bonus game. One example of a mechanical device which provides a bonus award to the player is in the SLOTTO(trademark) gaming device distributed by A.C. Coin and Slot Service Co. The SLOTTO(trademark) gaming device includes a lottery type apparatus mounted on top of the gaming device cabinet. The apparatus includes a plurality of plastic balls inside a globe. Each ball includes an award marked thereon. The game randomly displays a ball to the player. The award marked on the displayed ball indicates the player""s bonus award.
Traditional end-bonus, terminator, or pooper games determine a players final bonus award by summing selections until a terminator is obtained. Other bonus games determine the final bonus award by summing awards associated with selections picked by a player until the player uses a number of picks. Traditional mechanical bonus games display or determine the final bonus award by performing a mechanical operation absent player participation. While these final bonus award determination methods are successful, new exciting methods of determining final bonus awards are desired to provide player enjoyment, excitement and entertainment.
The present invention provides a gaming device having a bonus game wherein a mechanical device activates simultaneously with or immediately upon a player picking a selection having a terminator which ends the selection portion of the bonus game. More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention provides a processor controlled bonus game that provides a player a number of masked selections displayed on a display device. At least one and preferably a plurality of selections have an associated award and at least one selection has an associated terminator. The game enables the player to pick selections and accumulate a preliminary bonus award until picking a selection having a terminator. When the player picks a selection revealing a terminator, the processor simultaneously or immediately thereafter activates the mechanical device and after a period of time causes the mechanical device to display a modifier to the player which modifies the preliminary bonus award, thus determining the player""s final bonus award. In one embodiment, the mechanical device does not include player interaction, but it should be appreciated that the mechanical device could include player interaction.
In one embodiment, the player selection stage includes a plurality of selections displayed on a display device. The selections may include any symbol, image, indicia or icon which reflects the theme of the particular game. The game enables the player to pick selections until picking a selection revealing a terminator. For each non-terminator selection picked, the game reveals an award associated with the selection. The preliminary bonus award consists of, in one embodiment, the sum of all the awards associated with selections picked by the player prior to picking the selection revealing a terminator. When a player picks a selection revealing a terminator, the processor activates the mechanical device of the bonus game.
The mechanical device could be any suitable device capable of displaying a modifier such as one or more reels, one or more wheels, or any other type of device or apparatus which is preferably attached to the cabinet of the gaming device. One embodiment of the mechanical device is similar to a lottery globe including a plurality of plastic balls having modifiers thereon. When activated, the plastic balls randomly move inside the globe and a plastic ball marked with a modifier is displayed to the player. The processor applies the modifier marked on the ball to the preliminary bonus award to determine the player""s final bonus award. One advantage of this game is it enables a player to participate in a bonus game by picking selections until picking a selection having a terminator, and ultimately having a mechanical device determine the player""s final bonus award.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device having a bonus game with a terminator that activates a mechanical device to determine the player""s final bonus award.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.